Sexist Language & Communication, Pt 1

Note: My instructor's question:

“Anthropologist Michael Moffat (1989) studied university dormitory residents’ use of language and found that 1/3 of the young men in the study, in conversations with other men, consistently referred to women as “chicks, broads, and sluts,” reflecting what Moffat termed a “locker-room style” of communication about women. More recently, Hopper (2003) analyzed the speech patterns of dozens of men as they commented on women; he concluded that the degree of “objectification” and references to body parts was absolutely startling.

Now, we know that BOTH men and women are capable of using sexually demeaning terminology.

In fact, Hopper determined that WOMEN call or refer to other WOMEN in sexually “objectifying” terms, but primarily use terms that imply sexual promiscuity (e.g., slut, ho, easy). However, Hopper in his research noted that both sexes RARELY talked about men in sexually degrading terms.” (Course Text: GenderSpeak, p. 161)

• Share your thoughts on whether you agree or disagree explaining that conceiving of and communicating about a person in ONLY sexual terms is demeaning and sexist language and communication.
• What are your thoughts observations, and insights regarding sexist language and communication?
• What are possible ways of eliminating demeaning and degrading sexist language in our gender communication?
• The Constitution of the United States essentially declares (meaning and interpretation for the early 21st century) that men and women are created equal and endowed (“by their Creator”) with certain inalienable rights? (based on the Declaration of Independence, July 4,1776). How does the concept of gender equality impact gender communication?

No, I don't know why they included the bit about the Declaration of Independence. Not sure I want to know.

I do think that using sexualized insults is sexist and demeaning. My own observations of how people use sexualized and gendered language match with the research mentioned in the text. More often than not, people use insults which refer to female genitalia, or are words that are feminine or refer to women; when you use such language to insult someone, you’re implying that being a woman is to be lesser. Telling someone that they “throw like a girl” implies that women are less capable as human beings. It also implies that being feminine is something to be ashamed of. There’s a similar implication in heterosexist insults--insults which tend to call into question the gender or sexual orientation of a person, typically used against men and boys who aren’t “being manly enough”. The worst thing a male person can be is feminine, because there is an association in most people’s minds between being feminine and being weak.

There is a similar trend in using masculine insults against women, though it doesn’t seem as common as using feminine insults. When a woman steps outside of feminine stereotypes, she runs the risk of being shamed for being overly masculine--”butch” and “dyke” are two heterosexist insults that are used against women who don’t conform to feminine stereotypes. The implication seems to be that any woman who is assertive or not feminine enough is wrong in some way; a woman who isn’t “womanly” enough is accused of being homosexual in the same way that a man who isn’t “manly” enough is accused of being female or gay. This type of language--both sexist and heterosexist--seems to me to be an attempt to police the actions and behaviors of people who deviate from the “norm.” Using gendered insults often seems like an attempt to uphold gender stereotypes. Using gendered insults is a way to shame the person you’re insulting into conforming to the ideas of “proper” gender behavior that you have. Calling a woman a “bitch” means that that woman has stepped out of line with “appropriate” feminine behavior. Calling a man a “fag” means that that man has deviated wildly from what is “correct” masculine behavior. Stereotypes, by definition, strip the individuality from people, and dehumanize them. Attempting to shame people into more closely following gender stereotypes seems counter to any kind of communication, let alone communication between the genders.